Photographs of the Spitting Image puppets, all limp and decrepit

Date
18 February 2015

If ever you needed a reminder of the occasionally ludicrous caricatures that have made up British politics, a new show of images of the Spitting Image puppets will be in London just before the election in May.

The show, which will be held at James Hyman Gallery on Savile Row, draws together some brilliant photographs by documentary photographer Anna Fox and Andrew Bruce, who have used puppets from the gallery’s private collection to create bright, strangely ominous portraits. There’s something disquieting about seeing the puppets in their worn state, flopping about on top of each other, or posed with eyes staring at the camera, worryingly human yet flaccid and artificial. Among the stars of the show are Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, Michel Heseltine and Norman Tebbit, who’s depicted as a strange torso on a stick, in a natty jacket. He looks a bit like Julian Cope in that hat, but his handless arms and anxious gaze capture what the rest of the show seems to be suggesting: the uselessness of these strange, but superbly crafted creatures.

The most feeble of the images is perhaps the heap of bodies, laying limp on the floor. The photographers say: “Once we had them out of their packing cases, lying on the studio floor, the puppets looked broken, aged, decrepit and lacking any glimmer of life. The orange latex protruded pathetically from underneath their clothing as we re-arranged them on the stand. At one point, Norman Tebbit’s head came off as if he was being decapitated by some unknown force. 

“The glamour faded, the sheen gone. Failed characters abandoned in storage…These puppets, imbued with satire, represented our most significant politicians at their worst… Now, like all political fortunes, we are left with the remnants of a different age.”

The exhibition runs from 22 April to 8 May at James Hyman Gallery.

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Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox: Cecil Parkinson. Courtesy James Hyman Photography

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Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox: Edward Heath. Courtesy James Hyman Photography

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Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox: Margaret Thatcher. Courtesy James Hyman Photography

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Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox: Michael Heseltine. Courtesy James Hyman Photography

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Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox: Anna Fox. Courtesy James Hyman Photography

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Andrew Bruce and Anna Fox: Norman Tebbit. Courtesy James Hyman Photography

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Emily Gosling

Emily joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in the summer of 2014 after four years at Design Week. She is particularly interested in graphic design, branding and music. After working It's Nice That as both Online Editor and Deputy Editor, Emily left the company in 2016.

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